A roof over my head

Going against all my planning genes, I showed up in London only knowing where I'd be staying for the first 4 nights. Even when I start traveling on Monday to Prague (I still only have the outbound ticket booked), I haven't reserved a hostel yet. I should probably do that later today... Anyway, in the past 48 hours, I have sorted out where I'll be staying for the weekend when I return on 29 September, AND I have a backup place through mid-November.

I am looking at 3 flats on Sunday, two short-term (6 weeks to 2 months) and one longer term (minimum 3 month commitment). They are all in the Clapham Junction area of South London, and even though I had heard this before, I am very quickly learning about the North/South divide. If you live in North London, not only do you never venture out to South London, but you talk about people who live there disparagingly. If you live South (and the North/South distinction here refers to which side of the Thames you are on), you have the same sentiment about the North. As far as West and East go, it's generally accepted that West London is ok, and East London is fairly sketchy, or dodgy, if you will. It's rather funny really, because even in San Francisco, with distinct neighborhoods, it's really more of a 'to each his own' mentality. Except for maybe the Marina; a lot of people have strong opinions about that one.

For now, I'm focusing on South, because it's what I started looking at, and hey, I just need a place to live! A friend here looked over the tube map with me today, and we circled neighoborhoods she would recommend (mostly North) to give me more options. It's also tricky because the tube map is absolutely not to scale, and some areas are much closer than they seem, blending the neighborhoods more than you would suspect. Much like San Francisco, it's negotiable exactly where one stops and another one starts.

If one of these flats doesn't work out on Sunday, I have a backup offer to take over the lease of a friend's place until it expires in mid-November, and they'll move out early to join their significant other. That's in Putney (also South, and closer to Clapham than the map lets on). All my options give me a roof over my head until at least mid-November, and allows me the time to see if I'm compatible with the Southside vibe, and look for a longer term flat somewhere. Ideally, I will be in a long term let situation before I come home for Christmas, so that when I bring my bags back from CA full of the second round of stuff, I'm not moving everything twice.

So, I think I'm making good progress, and doing fairly well with my stress management. It will be nice to start living somewhere of my own, as I've been couchsurfing in the States/UK since August 26 and the earliest I move in anywhere is September 30. If anyone has particular advice on neighborhoods (and why), please post a comment! I'm looking to let a furnished room in a shared flat with one or two other roommates in Zone 2 or maybe Zone 3 for around 500-600 GBP/month and must be 10 minutes or less walking distance from a tube stop.